Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention enables one person to hang fascia board of various sizes from 2xe2x80x3xc3x976xe2x80x3 to 2xe2x80x3xc3x9712xe2x80x3 on plumb and square cuts, on every pitch from square (90xc2x0) to 12 in 12 (45xc2x0).
2. Description of Prior Art
In many of the construction trades, the economies of modem construction necessitates that the number of craftsmen be limited to as few as possible due to the high labor cost. Labor cost is particularly high in the construction industry which, by necessity, is labor intensive because few construction practices can be reduced to automated techniques. The advances in modern construction practices have been for the most part, in improvements in the operation and efficiency of everyday tools that craftsmen use. For example, the development of automatic nailing guns, super adhesives, and tools to apply them, and better materials and prefabricated substructures has greatly improved the efficiency and speed of building construction.
Much of the improvements in the past, however, have been directed toward improving the efficiency of the individual craftsman. There are, however, much needed improvements in overall construction practices which will lead to a reduction in the number of needed craftsmen, and thus, a corresponding reduction in construction cost. One such area is the hanging of fascia board to the ends of rafters during the construction of a home, which in the past has been a two or three-man job.
In conventional home construction, the rafters slant downward from the peak of the roof to the upper edge of the wall. Boards are laid on the upper surface of the rafters to form the roof. The rafters and roof extend beyond the wall and eave troughs at the edge of the roof receive the rain runoff from the roof. The eave troughs are mounted on fascia boards fastened to the ends of the rafters and lay parallel to the wall of the house.
Inventors have created several types of fascia board hangers to attach fascia board along the edges of rafters. U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,189 to Fleck (1997) is for an apparatus to support fascia board during installation along the rafters of a roof. However, this apparatus does not have a swivel bracket to adjust to all pitches of a roof structure. Thus, the device can only be used on a plumb cut rafter tail. The device is limited and can not be used on a square cut rafter tail.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,059 to Silver (1993) is a fascia board holder with a U-shaped channel that is rigidly mounted on quadrant which provides for no adjustment for varying sized fascia board. The device is only useable for one size rafter. The device does not show pitch marks to select angular position to lock the quadrant relative to the pitch of the roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,517 to Vossler (1989) shows a fascia board installing apparatus, but it is unclear how the fascia board installing apparatus would be removed after the fascia board is attached to rafter tail.
These patents, or known prior uses, teach and disclose various types of support devices, as well as methods of their construction; but none of them, whether taken individually or in combination disclose specific details of the combination of the inventions as to bear upon the claims of my fascia board hanger.
Temporary hangers may, of course, be used to hold up and align multiple fascia boards and numerous devices, such as those described in the Fleck and Vossler patents. None of the prior art devices, however, take into consideration that roof pitches vary from building to building, so they were not adjustable for different roof pitches.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my fascia board hanger are:
(a) The rafter clamp saddle can be used on any sized rafter.
(b) The swivel bracket may be adjusted and locked in position to accommodate varying roof pitches. Pitch increments are stamped on swivel bracket.
(c) The fascia bucket may be adjusted and locked in various positions to receive and secure different-sized fascia boards.
An additional advantage is my fascia board hanger is very light weight for carrying on tool belts. The hanger can be removed very simply after fascia board is attached. The hanger is made of very sturdy {fraction (3/16)}xe2x80x3 aluminum. While reference to fabrication in aluminum has been made, other materials such as plastics or steel may well be equally employed.
In accordance with information presented, the fascia board hanger enables one person to use the rafter clamp to secure the hanger bracket on the rafter, to use the swivel bracket for securing the desired pitch, and the hanger bucket to support the fascia board. The hanger bucket also slides up and down for easy removal. It is a specific object of the fascia hanger to be easy to install, use, and remove.
The fascia board hanger is low in cost and at the same time, is sturdy in construction.
Another object of the fascia board hanger is one worker can install fascia board along the ends of rafters which reduces labor cost.
It is still another object of my hanger to be fully adjustable for the relative height of fascia to the top of the rafter during the installation process. After the fascia is installed, it provides yieldable means for removal.